Vigilante
by LemonyOrange
Summary: REUPLOAD WITH CHANGES! Beca, Jesse and Benji are vigilantes in L.A. Bechloe endgame, with a healthy helping of crime and ruthlessness. Wouldn't call it romance, but yeah, Bechloe.
1. Chapter 1

I took this down because I suffer from depression, and the lack of inspiration just makes it worse. I also had a change of heart about where I wanted this to go, so it'll be the same for a little way, but then I had to make a couple changes. I also lengthened it out, adding in more details here and there, because the perfectionist in me made me hate it. So yeah.

So, hopefully this time'll be better for everybody and we'll just take it as it comes, kay? Sorry for the disappointment and all that jazz.

 _-LemonyOrange-_

 _ **Chapter 1 - Everything's About To Change**_

At 5 years old, Beca Mitchell witnessed a bank robbery. Five hostages were shot and killed after police negotiations failed in Barden Town Bank. Her mother, Jennifer, had been one of those five. People called her lucky for surviving, but Beca disagreed. She had lost the person her whole world revolved around, and no matter what her father did, no matter how many counsellors or child psychologists she visited, she refused to open up and let anyone that close to her again. She became a recluse, burying herself in music and schoolwork so that she could graduate school and move to L.A., where there would be no memories of her mother haunting her.

Her dad was, understably, worried about his little girl. From the moment she chose not to have a party for her eighth birthday, he knew Beca was different from other girls, and perhaps would never be like them. She spent all her time alone, even in school, and because of her attempts to alienate herself, she was constantly bullied and harrassed by those in her school.

When Beca was 13, her father married again. Phil Mitchell met Sheila Barry in a coffee shop during his lunch break. A truly cliched romance story, they were married within two years of that day. As expected, Beca never connected to her step-mother, despite her father's efforts. She couldn't even bring herself to like the woman, choosing to begin music mixing and writing instead of spending time with the Step Monster. Her relationship with her father worsened - she would never forgive him for moving on from her real mom.

In school, things were also taking a turn for the worse. Since starting Middle School, the kids in her year had stepped their torment up a notch. Now, instead of dealing with taunts and name-calling, which she could deflect with loud music, Beca was forced to defend herself from people invading her personal space. She was shoved around, and the students amused themselves by getting as close to her as possible in classes so as to put her on edge. of course, being the bad-ass person she was, she wasn't about to go crying home to Daddy about it, so she just gritted her teeth and tried her best to ignore the assholes she was surrounded with on a daily basis.

However, not everything about Middle School was terrible. She made her first friends in the unlikely forms of Chloe Beale and Aubrey Posen. The bond was mainly formed because of their intelligence. Chloe was naturally good at all of her subjects, Aubrey was determined to impress her elitist parents, Beca had nothing to do when she was waiting for inspiration other than study, and all 3 were solid A students. They sat together in the library during free periods and when Beca wasn't being hounded by idiots, she sometimes spent break times with them. She mostly spent her time alone though. She always understood that Chloe and Aubrey had been friends way before she came on the scene and she didn't want to get between them. It also didn't help that she had the worlds biggest crush on Chloe, and she didn't want the red-head to find out. It might have ruined their friendship forever. In fact, no one in Beca's school even knew she was gay.

When she turned 16, Phil broke the news that they were moving to New York. Beca reacted with her usual amount of sarcasm.

"Oh wow, that's great Dad! I can't wait to move to the wonderful, amazing, super-beautiful place that is New York! Michigan is getting so old and boring now, I bet all my friends will be so jealous!" she said, never moving her eyes from her laptop screen. Unsure how to react, her father left her room to tell Sheila how that had gone.

Two weeks later, Beca dropped her bag on the floor of her new room. The apartment was pretty big - Sheila had been promoted at work, hence the big move. She was sitting on her bed and looked around, deciding where her desk and drawers would go when/if the moving vans ever arrived when her dad walked in.

"Beca, I need to talk to you." After waiting five seconds for the answer that never came, he continued. "Look, we're in a new place, and we can make a fresh start here. You can make friends and you never know, you might find a boy you like..." He trailed off when all he got was an eye-roll. "Listen, you have to come out of your shell at some point! You spent the past 11 years not talking to people and just hiding from the world in your room! Well, news flash Beca! Life goes on! You can't waste your life trying to run from the past, you have to face it and go right through it!" Phil looked at his daughter, panting slightly from his outburst. She was finally staring at him, and he could see she was angry.

"How can this be so easy for you?" Said Beca in a low voice. "You just look back and say 'oh well' before continuing on like nothing happened. You don't care about me, just like you never cared about mom! You've never cared about anyone except yourself!" Phil glared at her.

"You don't get to talk to me like that! I am your father, and you will respect that! Anyway, since you refuse to talk to me or Sheila, I am imposing a new rule. Everyday, for three hours, you have to go outside, doing somehing, anything that isn't studying or mixing music. Anything, as long as it's not illegal. Make friends, Beca. It's not healthy to be such a... a loner at your age. You should be out at parties, going on dates, being a normal teenager. I'm taking this into my hands now. This decision is final." He closed the door behind him, leaving his daughter to lay back on her bed, sighing and running her hand through her hair.

And that's how Beca Mitchell found herself, a week later, being beaten up in a side alley by a man holding a knife. Despite the fact she was in danger, she couldn't bring herself to care. The man was easily overpowering her, landing a few lazy punches into her stomach. She wasn't even trying to fight back when a voice rang out.

"Hey asshole! You gonna let her go?" shouted a boy aound her own age. He was walking quickly down the dark passage, his hands in his pockets and smiling. He looked almost happy, like he was trying to be friendly, except there was an unmistakable threat buried in the way he moved.

The thug turned to face him, but he was met by a foot to the nose. He hit the wall with a sickening crack as the boy landed a series of kicks into his chest and stomach, leaving the unfortunate criminal in a bloodied heap on the ground.

"Hi!" He said, taking one of his hands out of his pocket and holding it out. "I'm Jesse!" Beca took the hand and shook it, still in a little awe about what she had seen.

"Dude. What the fuck was that?"

"Eh, just some Taekwon Do. It was actually wrong though. Luke would kill me. My stance was almost non-existant, and I was so slow..." He rubbed the back of his head ruefully. "If you're ever asked, you would do me a huge favour if you say that everything about it was perfect. I won't get into trouble that way." But Beca had stopped listening.

"Teach me!" she said. Thanks to her asshole father, she had three spare hours every day she spent doing absolutely nothing, and this was a pretty cool thing to know. But Jesse shook his head.

"No can do. But you should talk to Luke. He could probably show you. He taught me and a bunch of other people. You should come meet them! What's your name by the way?"

"Oh, uh, I'm Beca. Beca Mitchell."

After a brief interview, she became part of the lucky group of people who were enrolled in the Luke School of Martial Arts. The man was a fighting genius. He had mastered several different disciplines of the sport, and taught them to his students in an extremely effective manner. He taught Jesse Taekwon Do similar to Kenichi's training in History's Mightiest Disciple, i.e., punishing him whenever he fucked up, which was often. Amy learned Judo the way Po learned Kung-Fu, with food, while Lily studied Kung-Fu by constantly sparring, like Ichigo in Bleach. Beca was shown Karate as a form of rhythm, that needed to be mixed correctly in order to work. The faster the beat, the more energy it gives the crowd.

It wasn't just physical fighting the Luke knew though. He taught Stacie how to read a person so well, she was almost able to see into a person's mind. And Benji learned how to hack, code, crack, anything computer or technology-related. He was soon an expert in IT, better than most professionals before he'd even finished school.

The group became really close, sharing all their secrets with each other and forming their own group at school. Sticking together, they managed to survive the tide of insults, bad grades and trouble that comes with being a high-school student. With Luke's Dojo (The garage at the back of his house) as their regular meeting place, and Luke himself as their mentor on everything they could think to ask him, the group grew stronger mentally and physically and became confident in the way you can only give off when you are an expert in self-defense and you know nothing can hurt you. Even Dr Mitchell was happy. Despite the occasional bruises and injuries, his daughter was finally out of her shell, opening up to other human beings and making friends. She still refused to connect with her father or step-mother, but she was visibly happier than she had been in Michigan.

In college, Benji, Jesse and Beca stuck together, while the others fanned out into their respective careers. Beca took a course in Music Production and Writing, while Jesse majored in Scoring and Composition. Benji quickly burned through all of the Software Development and Coding classes the college could offer, finishing a year before the others. It was that final year when things really kicked off. Benji dug the internet for parts and blueprints, eventually resorting to his own designs to build communication systems and tracking systems, just for fun at the beginning. However, when Beca and Jesse discovered his stash, combined with an Arrow marathon, an idea was born. While Benji streamlined and perfected his designs, the daring duo tested them in the field, super-spy style. Interrupting any and all criminals they came across, they put their skills to good use. Eventually, it stopped being just for fun, and a sense of duty was developed. It became less of a stroll, and more of a patrol.

For Beca, it was even more of a big deal. Every criminal she took down, every small-time theif she left tied up and gagged behind a counter, was a step closer to finding the group that had killed her mother. Benji had designed a uniform of sorts for the pair. Black trousers, black canvas boots, black t-shirts and a grey jacket with a modified hood, designed to increase the shadow coverage on the face whilst not affecting visibility. They also each had a belt with their weapons of choice in it. Jesse had a selection of knives, ranging from two to fifteen inches long, and Beca carried darts and shuriken. She had soon discovered that she had a terrific aim, particularly at long distance. It was a dangerous game. As they got better at their work, the criminal underworld grew more aware of them. Numerous hits were taken out on them as they moved up the criminal list, not discriminating between drug lords, mafia assassins or simple burglars. But it's hard to take someone out when you don't know who they are.

After college, Beca was scouted by Sony Music for her amazing skills at a mixing desk. Quickly ascending the charts, she was ranked with David Guetta and Martin Garrix within a year. Jesse was recruited by Warner Brothers to score films. He won awards left, right and center for his powerful and compelling music. Benji became a Software Developer for EA Games, making his name in the Gaming Industry as well known as the Beca's in Music. The trio bought a house together in L.A., where they spent their days working with stars and well-known people. Their nights, were spent patrolling the streets, gathering intel on the various crime gangs around America. In Jesse's words, they were living in a movie.

 _-LemonyOrange-_

There. I know this seems long and pointless, but this is all, or most of the necessary backstory out of the way. I hate doing flashback sequences, so I tend to get history out of the way within the first couple of chapters. Sucks, I know.

Sorry if I got the stuff about High School or Middle School wrong, because I'm not sure how it works in America. Over here, we only have Primary and Secondary School, and after that we have to do this exam called the Leaving Cert., where we earn points based on our grades, and colleges all set points for each course, as well as certain subjects you need to take to get into each course. But it could be completely different in The States, so I left it out. Same with college.

So yeah, any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. I'd love if you dropped me a review, it's important to know what you think.

Chapter title from War of Change by Thousand Foot Krutch.


	2. Chapter 2

Super late update, but be happy! This might make your Monday a little better. I'm sick today, hence the update during school time.  
Oh, I almost forgot, if your interested in having a conversation or whatever, my tumblr URL is lemonyorange. My blog is mostly Hollstein and Cophine, but there's the odd Bechloe post in there too. I'd love to hear from anyone, so of course, reviews on this are also welcome.  
Updates might be few and far between until toward the end of June. My Leaving Cert is happening, so I need to do super long exams, which require super long hours of study. But hey, it might be worth it when I get into college.

 _ **Chapter 2 - Same Ol' Decent**_

Beca stormed into the house, slamming the door behind her and stalking up the stairs into her room/office. Why on earth did she have to be assigned the new Miley Cyrus album! It was completely not her style! She knew jack shit about wrecking balls and adoring people, so why the hell was Jake putting her with Hannah friggin' Montana? She threw herself into her chair, throwing a dart from her desk at one of the many boards on her wall. She hit the bulls-eye, if you could call it that. Almost all the boards had been hit so many times, they were practically falling apart. She sighed, and made a mental note to replace the worst ones. Turning to her laptop, she started it up to find she had an e-mail from Jake regarding the album. She shut it down without reading it, and dropped her head into her arms, just sitting there for about ten minutes before Benji walked in.

"Bad deal, huh? Who'd you get this time?" he asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Miley. I got the one girl I can't actually stand no matter how few clothes she's wearing." Benji laughed. It was no secret that Beca was gay. A series of fan-girling sessions over Emily Bett Rickards whilst watching Arrow had revealed this to the others in the group, and a couple of high-school crushes had been truly destroyed by Benji and Jesse's teasing.

"Miley Cyrus... Any way you can make her sound... awesome? She used to be an icon. Find some way to strip her back down and then build her back up. Like a really complicated firewall. There's always a first line of code, you just have to work your way back." Beca looked up from her forearms and stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Behind the nerd speak, I'm 90% sure that was sound advice. Thanks man."

Benji stood up. "Well, now that you're not sulking, you gotta come downstairs. Jesse and I found some new info about Glitch."

Glitch was a new criminal gang that had recently become prominent on the L.A. scene, expanding from the original drug industry into hired thievery and contract killing. The leaders of the group weren't too fussed about what they had to do in order to get their hands on what they wanted most - which was money. As much of it as possible. The trio knew that the only way to take down the gang was to take down the leaders, but for the past couple of months there had been no progress on discovering who they were.

Beca followed Benji back onto the groundfloor, and then down a shorter staircase into the basement. The basement was more like Benji's Bat Cave. It was kown to the trio as the Den, because it was absolutely stuffed wih computer monitors, hard-drives with dated stickers, filing cabinets neatly filled with alphabetically sorted folders and boxes containing technology in various states of completion, ranging from messes of welded wires to small black shells that looked formiddably efficient.

Jesse was sitting at the round desk located in the centre of the Den, his feet on the table and eating a bag of Quavers. Benji's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"What the actual fuck do you think you're doing! No food in my Den! Get the fuck out, with your muddy feet and your cheese-flavoured fingers! Do you even know the damage you might do to my servers! Do you want to ruin all of the work I have done here!"

Beca fell into her seat laughing at the scene unfolding before her. Benji hauled Jesse (who had done this purely for Benji's reaction) out of his chair and up the stairs, landing a few weak punches onto his back and shoulders on the way. He came back, panting, and sat in his spot.

"Really Benji, don't you think that was a teeny tiny bit of an over-reaction? You know he just did it to annoy you. He's nowhere near anthing he could potentially harm." said Beca. Benji glared at her and folded his arms. He said nothing until Jesse returned, cleaned up and without food.

"Alright. I'm gonna jump right in. Basically, I spent the morning trying to dig up potential Glitch bases in the city, based on cell-phone triangulations and transaction sites. I got numerous hits, which was expected, but I managed to narrow it down to a couple of locations that would actually make sense. However, there was still about twenty adresses on the list, so I looked up the registered owners of each unit. I am aware that anyone smart enough to operate a sophisticated criminal group like this wouldn't use their actual name, so I wasn't really registering them when I found a familiar one." Here, he turned his tablet around to show them an ID on the screen.

"Bumper Allen. Fan-fucking-tastic." Jesse slammed his fist onto the table.

"The only criminal both intelligent enough to run a fully functional ring while still being stupid and arrogant enough to actually give his actual identity in a business transaction." Beca slumped back in her seat, pushing it out a little and spinning it around as she thought. "It would be exactly Bumper's style. I mean, we all know he's in this for the money, just like Glitch. His motives match, and the basic structure of the crimes is similar to his MO as well... I think this is as good a shot as any. When do we move?"

"I've already mapped out the building. A six-floor warehouse pretty far out in the suburbs. The job will definately require both of you, and you will need the bikes. I fixed up the damage from last time - " Beca grimmaced guiltily. Crashing straight through a glass wall hadn't exactly been an accident, but it had been a necessary manoever. " - and I have prepared some comm devices. Beca, you have fifty darts loaded with tranq, and ten filled with cyaninde. Jesse, your knives are on your shelf. I'm recommending five, make sure one of them's the Tanto blade. They're doused as well. I suggest heading out tomorrow. There shouldn't be any big dealings, it would go against the pattern."

Beca and Jesse nodded, getting to their feet and gathering the weapons Benji had indicated. While the two fighters playfully argued and messed around, Benji put his laptop away and they all left the room. Since the Den was where they kept everything incriminating, it was important that it couldn't be found. When the door was closed, it blended seamlessly with the surrounding wall. There wasn't even a handle. Benji had given each of the houses occupants a remote activation switch to access it. It was like a secret hideout. Jesse had literally fan-boyed when he thought of that.

Back in her room, Beca checked the e-mail she'd gotten from Jake.

 _Hey Beca,_

 _I just got off the phone with Mr Cyrus. He gives you full permission to use your material in the album so you can make whatever you want. Guess your reputation preceeds you. Just, do whatever sounds right. I know you weren't happy with the assignment, but we're relying on you to turn her image around. Don't let her agent sway you. This girl has a serious problem, but don't let the music suffer. Also, you don't have to spend too much time with her. You can literally only deal with her while she's in the booth if that's what you want._

 _Denise is drafting a contract for the work. you can go through it and sign it tomorrow, I'll email it to you._

 _Keep mixing,_

 _Jake_

Beca smiled. Jake was one weird dude. He was very openly gay, but most girls seemed to fall for him anyway, and he took no shame in flirting with them to get what he wanted. In her opinion, he wasn't that good-looking, but according to every heterosexual girl in the department, she just wasn't 'seeing straight.'

She opened her mixing programmes and began listening to some of Miley Cyrus' older stuff, 'from back in the day'. Never having been much for Disney Tweens, she spent the next hour trying to find an angle to take in the new album. Obviously, it was gonna be upbeat, maybe a few dance tracks, but there was some serious potential for acoustic guitar in there too...

After a while she checked her clock, and saw that it was almost midnight. She saved her notes onto her work USB and collapsed into bed thinking about tomorrow's mission. Benji woud work out an action plan while her and Jesse were in work, and then they'd carry it out after it got dark. She grinned to herself. She loved taking down theives more then any other type of criminal, except murderers. Especially big time theives. Benji was working on the case from 20 years ago, trying to find out who exactly had broken into Barden National Bank, but Beca found it helped to consider every robber as guilty as the ones who had shot her mother. It was the main reason she'd started doing this whole vigilante thing any way. Even though it was kind of illegal itself, Jesse did it because he liked saving people, and Beca never wanted anyone to go through her ordeal. They made a good team, with Benji's assisstance, and they were getting more renowned with every job. The media speculated on a regular basis as to who was doing this, how many were involved, what was the motive... Beca found the whole thing amusing.

As an up-and-coming musician, she spent quite a bit of time in the media herself. The first time she got paparazzi, she almost had a heart-attack. Now however, she had learned how best to avoid them, or make sure nothing incriminating got to them. It was a little funny that she was so well publicised, yet no one actually knew who she really was. In interviews, she presented a witty and quietly confident front, in work, she was the go-to on all things production related and on the street she was your average celebrity, minus the sunglasses. Luke had taught her the importance of not restricting yourself intentionally. For this reason, she also avoided high-heels and tight skirts. Can't move a freaking inch in those things. Somehow, despite this avoidance of the clothing that most girls loved, she still managed to end up, along with Lzzy Hale, as one of Kerrang!'s Hottest Chicks in Metal. She reckoned she just barely qualified to be in there, after a few collab albums with a couple of big names in the genre, like Amy Lee and Gerard Way and her trademark slightly over the top eye-liner.

She stretched and rolled on to her side, still smiling as she fell asleep.

-LemonyOrange-

I didn't quite know how to end this one. Nothing really happened, but like I said before, I'm building up. We're gonna have action, but it's hard to fill in background when you're writing in the third person. This is my first time doing it, and I think I'm doing ok?

Anyway, the next one will probably be much longer, and there will be a curve of problem and resolution, so sit tight! Like I said before thank you so so so so much for the support, it really does mean a lot to me, so I will do my best to make this an entertaining read for you all.

Chapter title from Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone, thanks for the encouraging reviews and follows - it really gives a writer inspiration. Anyway, I wrote this in honour of finally watching Agent Carter, the premiere of Carmilla Season 2, and the start of the 2015 Leaving Certificate (fucking Bono, he's spreading like the plague). __A lot of the stress I've been under has recently been alleviated, so this is like an anonymous thank-you to the anonymous reasons for that - I love you all so very much, even if all you've done is read and favourite - it really does affect my mental health in a positive way.

Also, if you'd like to follow me on tumblr, I am the lemonyorange there too. Cheers, lads. And good luck to anyone doing exams over the next few weeks. You'll be grand.

 _ **Chapter 3 - I've been doing just fine on my own**_

Beca spent most of her day preparing for the mission. She didn't have to go to work because she had no important meetings, so she could do her usual pre-fight routine. She spent the first few hours in the gym that took up the entire top floor of the house. They had converted the attic, so that the roof was now mostly panes of glass, aside from the supports and metal beams that suspended targets, boxing bags and other useful equipment. The walls were lined with other instruments, for both sparring and solo practise, and there was a pile of barely used protective gear in the corner. Jesse and Beca both agreed that it was restricting and defeated the point of toughening yourself up. People aren't going to wait for you to strap on your gloves in the middle of a fight. She spent her time in the gym throwing darts at the targets and hitting the series of wooden poles that took up one corner. Each pole had a section of rope wrapped around it near the top, and the idea was to hit that spot as much as possible without breaking a wrist or an ankle. It toughened up the skin and increased pain-threshold. Sometimes, Beca hated that Benji didn't fight. He designed all these torture devices, yet he never had to use them. Bastard.

After her workout, and a shower, Beca made her way to her ultimate favourite cafe, ' _Il Latte_ '. It was a relatively small place, with a nice atmosphere and it was never too crowded. Beca loved it, but not just because of the amazing blended-ice and privacy. The waitresses there were _really_ good-looking. They must send in headshots with their CVs or something, Beca supposed, in order to get the job. It was a very clever profit ploy.

As Beca entered, the bell above the door tinkled, announcing her arrival. The DJ scowled at it in annoyance. She hated that noise. Every time she opened the door it rang a slightly flat B note - her least favourite note. It was however, a small price to pay for the amazing coffee she knew was waiting for her.

"Oh my God! Beca? Beca Mitchell?" Beca turned, sighing internally. She hated when people recognised her in public. It felt like an invasion of privacy, like she was surrounded by people watching her every move.

To her surprise though, when she saw the person who had called her, it was a familiar face. A familiar red-headed face with a smile that could've out-shined the sun.

"Hey Beca, remember me? It's Chloe Beale, from Barden?"

"Chloe! How could I forget?" Beca smiled at Chloe, which made her grin become impossibly more blinding.

"It's been so long right?! I haven't seen you in years! What happened to you? Everyone said you moved."

"Uh yeah, my step-mother got relocated, so we moved to New York. I... uh... I guess I forgot to tell you and Aubrey."

Beca hadn't forgotten. She just hadn't been able to convince herself that telling them would be a good idea. Instead she spent the two weeks before she moved pretending that everything was normal, maybe avoiding Chloe and Aubrey a little more. The blonde control-freak had made it a little easier - she'd yelled at Beca for playing Legend of Zelda in European History instead of paying attention and subsequently failing a test on Ancient Rome so badly she'd earned the entire class detention.

Chloe raised one eyebrow skeptically, clearly seeing right through Beca's lie.

"Well, never mind, it's in the past! Can I get you a coffee?"

Beca placed her order and then took her drink to a booth in the corner. She opened her laptop bag and but her computer on the table, pulling up her e-mail inbox and sifting through her messages. She had a couple from co-workers, just asking for help with certain things, one from her assistant with a contracct drawn up for the Miley Cyrus project, and two from Jesse. One read: "Call me when you get this." and the other said "Also, buy more microwave popcorn. We're watching Star Wars over the weekend."

She sighed into her coffee and in order to punish him for that decision, she carefully read her contract three times before she called him.

"Becaw! You got my message!"

"Don't call me that! And I got both of them. We're going to have a LONG conversation about you making decisions for me. When have I ever expressed an interest in the biggest cliche movie the world has ever seen?"

"You'll love it. It's got all the things you like: cheesey villain lines, fascist-like organisations and a guy with bad asthma and clothed entirely in black."

"Not one word of that sounds remotely appealing to me."

"Well, never mind. The reason I wanted to talk to you is because I'm packing. What darts do you want? I have no idea what you need for this one."

Beca had colour-coded darts which she used for different reasons. Red darts had tiny explosives in the barrell, greens one had tranquilisers in them, blue ones had cyanide and the black ones were just normal. She briefly considered her options, and then gave her answer.

"Take 30 greens, 30 blacks, 20 reds and 10 blue. Also, grab some stars from my room, they're in the third drawer down in my dresser. Just put as many as will fit in my belt-bag."

"Got it. Also, when will you be home? Benji wants to give us a quick brief before we head out. He's almost got into the CCTV in the building. You almost done your weird pre-mission routine?"

"Excuse me, mine is the weird one? I actually train and then stop to get coffee. You freaking meditate and then let your OCD take over when you pack everything!"

"Yeah yeah, bye Becaw!"

"Bye Jess. And don't call me that!"

She heard the tone that meant Jesse had hung up, and put down her phone. She opened her work from last night, and began to do more, typing out song lyrics, and notes on the country style. She was planning at least one Avicii-style remix - inspiration has to come from somewhere.

After an hour or so, she shut down her laptop and put it away, grabbing her coffee cup to return it to the counter as she stood up.

"Oh, you're leaving?" Chloe looked so disappointed, Beca felt the need to come up with an excuse.

"Uh yeah, I have to um... my assisstant is having trouble locating some of my files, and my boss needs them, so I have to go to my office." Internally, she cringed. There was a reason she preferred using darts to words.

"Oh, ok. Well, bye then. And come back soon!"

Beca nodded, and turned to leave the shop. She walked out and took a left, walking right into a crowd of teenage girls.

"Oh, shit, sorry I didn't - wait, are you Beca Mitchell?" A few awkward photographs and autographs later, the DJ was walking back home again, this time staunchly avoiding anything she could possibly crash into until she got home, where she had two more hours to sleep before she had to get ready. This was going to be one fun operation.

 _-LemonyOrange-_

I don't know if American's take European History, but I literally know nothing about American History other than the Revolution and Presidents and Policies from Roosevelt to Reagan. That's all we learn about. I doubt that they study Irish History, which is my speciality but it's a pretty safe bet that they know something about Rome, right?

Chapter title from Unstable by Chaotica


	4. Chapter 4

I am SO sorry about the ridiculously late update! I have had a... well, I've had a shit summer. I know it's no excuse, but I haven't got nother one. I honestly came close to taking this story down again, but I didn't want to fail in this as well, so here you have a chapter that I'm not entirely happy with, but it's something, and it's plot relevant.

Sorry about that.

 _ **Chapter 4 - Well nothing comes to mind**_

Beca cut the engine of her bike, silence and darkness engulfing the courtyard she had pulled into. Jesse copied her a few seconds later, gliding to a halt beside her. Together, they took their helmets off, and pulled up the hoods on their grey jackets. They had been Benji-fied, and now they covered their entire faces with shadow. After checking that all their weapons were secure, and that their earpieces worked, they left the parking lot.

Benji had been able to hack into the buildings CCTV footage, and he was back in the Den so as to help them do their job as quickly as possible. Every entrance was guarded by three bulky security men, armed with guns and an almost visible lack of brain cells. Still, stupidity can be dangerous, and the three agreed quietly that it would be better to find some other way in.

"Okay guys, this is a ten minute, in and out job. If you go to the west-facing side of the building, there's a fire-escape with no guards. It's in shocking condition, though so be careful." Taking Benji's advice, the two ran to the other sde of the building. Jesse's taller build meant he could jump up to the first level of the escape, and he pulled Beca up after him. She picked the lock of the door, and they were in.

"Ok. There isn't CCTV on the fourth floor, so I'm willing to bet that whatever's going on, it's happening there. Once, you're up there, I'm of no use to you. Be safe." Jesse whispered an affirmative as he and Beca made their way up the three flights of stairs. They only met one complication - a group of ten guards outside the door caused a momentary confusion, but Beca's tranq darts made short work of them. Twenty seconds later, one of the explosive darts opened the door, and the two grey-clad figures ran in.

Bumper was half-standing at his desk. Two men in cheap suits, one with blonde hair and one with black, were turned around in their chair, both reaching for guns inside their jackets. Another three men were already pointing M1911s at the pair. Jesse knocked one to the side with his tanto, using the same movement to sink the blade into the thug's chest. He moved to take out the other two men, but Beca had already but a cyanide dart in one, and had swung up onto the shoulders of the other, twisting his neck with her legs and successfully breaking it. Jesse winced. He was a little scared of the little DJ when he saw how ruthless she could be. He tried his best not to kill people, but she was more focused on getting a job done as quickly as possible.

Turning to face Bumper, the vigilantes came up against his two clients, who were pointing Uzis right at them.

"Don't move!" shouted the blonde. "If you so much as twitch, I won't think twice about pumping you full of lead!" He was trying to put as much threat into his voice as possible, but he quivered right at the end. Beca sighed. First-timers.

"Hey, it's cool. We're not here for you anyway." said Jesse. "I can see you don't wanna get hurt, so if you'd just put down the guns, we can take what we came for and leave."

The two clients faltered, clearly not sure of what they should do.

"Sure dudes, just put the guns down. I'll make sure you die the most painful death I can think of, and you can be sure I have a pretty twisted mind." said Bumper, grinning. The black haired man refocused his aim, but Beca and Jesse had already taken advantage of their uncertainty. Inching forward, Jesse executed a crescent kick, knocking the blonde's gun out of his hand, then spinning and popping his nose. He stumbled backwards, and Jesse changed legs, sweeping his leg in a circle to knock the man onto the ground. A quick punch to the side of the head rendered him unconscious, and the vigilante turned to check on Beca.

The DJ had also taken advantage of her opportunity. When the black haired man regained focus, Beca was already half-way through her move. She threw a quick hammer shot at the side of his head, stunning him. Then she grabbed his neck, pulling his head down to meet his knee. He hit the ground, out for the count at the same time as his friend. The two vigilantes were now against just one much less cocky criminal.

Jesse launched himself at his opponent, landing a straight kick firmly into his chest. Beca began rifling trough the desk looking for the file that Benji was describing through the ear piece, as Jesse pulled out the tanto blade and held it to the larger man's neck. Ten minutes later, the pair left the unfortunate chief tied to his desk chair and knocked out with a tranq dart while squad cars could be heard coming closer to the scene. Making a quick escape, the pair pulled off with their bikes.

They returned to the house and quickly got changed out of their dirty clothes. Benji turned on the local news station, where Bumper's arrest was already being reported as "the vigilante's latest in a series of gang take-downs." Beca smirked, as she walked past the front room. It was only ten o'clock, and her favourite diner didn't close until eleven.

She walked the short distance, reaching the café after about ten minutes. She opened, and the familiar bell announced her arrival. Chloe's shift was long over, so she just ordered her usual and took out her notebook to figure out some new song lyrics. She was considering releasing a solo album, with all original material after the Miley project. She did need something to cheer her up.

After half an hour spent chewing on the end of her pen and staring at a page that was more scribbles than words, Beca was happy with what she had written. It wasn't perfect, but it was at that stage here it needed to be set to instruments so that the right changes could be made. She drank the dregs of her now melted drink and left a generous tip for the waitress before leaving the café.

She shivered as she made her way back down the street. She only had a light black jacket on, which was no protection against the coldness which had dropped over the city. There wasn't a lot of people around. L.A. nightlife didn't really extend to this part of the area, and most people were in bed, or at least in their homes, by around half eleven. Beca tucked her hands into her pockets and reguated her breathing, in a practised effort to keep warm and relaxed. She tensed up immediately when she heard the familiar short scream from not to far ahead. She launched into a sprint, reaching back to grab a dart before realising she'd left everything at home. This was a job she'd have to do by hand.

She reached the end of a darkened alley, lit only by a single streetlight on the edge of the main road. The shadows of two figures were visible against an overflowing bright-green skip. A burly man was preventing a much smaller blonde girl from going anywhere, and it was clear to Beca that the girl was very afraid. She was huddled against the skip, and her eyes were darting from the man to the ends of the alley, looking for an escape. Something about her looked familiar to the DJ but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind.

"Hey dickhead! Get away from her!"

The man turned around, grinning at Beca and pushing his hand through his hair. It was long and dirty, and even from the 50-yard distance, it turned the brunettes stomach. She began walking toward the two, her hands swinging loosely by her sides.

"Hey babe, you probably don't wanna get involved in this right now." He said, moving his hand so that the DJ could see the knife he had in his fist.

"No, I'm pretty sure I do." Beca grabbed the man's knife-hand, using her other arm to slam her elbow into his forearm. The audible cracking of a broken arm was followed by a scream, but Beca wasn't quite finished yet. As he fell back to the ground, clutching his arm, the tiny brunette aimed a low razor kick at the side of his head, knocking him unconscious, before pulling out her phone to call Benji.

"Resident tech-nerd."

"Hey Benji, can you call LAPD? We've got an unconscious rapist in an alleyway."

"Uhuh. And I'm sure he was that way when you got there."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

She gave her location before turning to the blonde who was still huddled against the skip, staring at her.

"Uh... Well the cops are on their way now so... Do you want to give a statement or something? Or I can walk you home if you'd rather not... You look kinda pale, you're probably in shock, so..."

"No, I'm fine, really. I can get home myself. Nothing happened that I need to tell the police about."

The blonde pushed herself off the skip, shaking her head slightly and straightening out her jacket. It was then Beca recognised her - blonde hair tied back with an impossible neatness, blue eyes that were so piercing they felt like literal knives pressed into you, an expensively fitted blazer that made the wearer look incredibly professional... looked like Chloe wasn't the only one of Beca's old friends who'd turned up in LA.

The DJ stepped back a little, pulling up her hood so as to hide her face. Normally, she would never let a person walk home alone afterbeing attacked, but Aubrey Posen was the last person she wanted to know about her. Odds were she was still in contact with Chloe, and Beca wasn't sure she wanted her old friends aware of what she was up to.

"Well, if you're sure... just, go straight home. And make a strong drink... Yeah, that should take care of the shock. If you don't want to talk to the police, you should leave now."

"Yes, of course. Hey, do I know you from somewhere? You sound familiar."

 _ **-LemonyOrange-**_

Chapter Title from She's A Rebel by Greenday. Which was the inspiration for this fic, incidentally.


End file.
